Today (21 September), Minister for the Commonwealth, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, strengthened the UK's commitment to the Commonwealth by announcing up to £3 million of support for international standards, which will reduce barriers to trade between the 56 nations.
At the 23rd Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting (CFAMM) in New York, Lord Ahmad announced £2.75m to directly support Commonwealth countries through the UK's new Standards Partnership Programme. In addition, £250k of funding will re-energise the Commonwealth Standards Network (CSN).
This work, led by the British Standards Institution (BSI), will support developing countries to use internationally agreed standards, enhancing trade and boosting sustainable and inclusive growth. This will also ensure substantive training resources are available to support all Commonwealth members and open trade opportunities for international businesses, including from the UK.
Lord Ahmad reiterated the Foreign Secretary's vision of ensuring the organisation focuses on areas where it can deliver the greatest benefits to Commonwealth citizens, trade and investment, climate and the environment, and the values set out in the Commonwealth Charter.
The Prime Minister of Samoa gave an update on preparations for the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Apia in 2024, the first CHOGM to be held in a small island developing state in the Blue Pacific continent. Lord Ahmad responded by setting out the UK's strong support for Samoa's hosting of CHOGM and welcomed their chosen theme of increasing the resilience of Commonwealth countries to a range of global challenges.
Lord Ahmad further urged the Commonwealth to use its powerful collective voice to build global momentum on climate action and environmental protection, and take practical steps towards increasing the resilience of small states to climate and economic shocks.
Foreign Ministers also discussed the ongoing work to reform the Commonwealth institutions, as mandated by Heads of Commonwealth countries during their last meeting in Kigali.
